Plane Waves and Wave Propagation

Augustin Jean Fresnel

(1788 - 1827)
November 9, 2001
Contents
1 Plane Waves in Uniform Linear Isotropic Nonconducting Media 2
1.1 The Wave Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Conditions Imposed by Maxwells Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Polarization 6
3 Boundary Conditions; Waves at an Interface 9
3.1 Kinematic Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 Conditions from Maxwells Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2.1 Polarization of E
0
Perpendicular to the Plane . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2.2 Polarization of E
0
Parallel to the Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.3 Parallel Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4 Reection and Transmission Coecients 19
5 Examples 21
5.1 Polarization by Reection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2 Total Internal Reection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1
6 Models of Dielectric Functions 26
6.1 Dielectric Response of Free Electrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7 A Model for the Ionosphere 31
8 Waves in a Dissipative Medium 35
8.1 Reection of a Wave Normally Incident on a Conductor . . . . . . . . 39
9 Superposition of Waves; Pulses and Packets 41
9.1 A Pulse in the Ionosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
10 Causality and the Dielectric Function 47
11 Arrival of a Signal in a Dispersive Medium 53
A Waves in a Conductor 57
2
In this chapter we start by considering plane waves in innite or semi-innite me-
dia. We shall look at their properties in both insulating and conducting materials and
shall give some thought to the possible properties of materials of dierent kinds. We
will also look at the reection and refraction of waves at planar boundaries between
dierent materials, a topic which forms the basis for much of physical optics. If time
allows, we shall also look at some of the more abstract aspects of wave propagation
having to do with causality and signal propagation.
1 Plane Waves in Uniform Linear Isotropic Non-
conducting Media
1.1 The Wave Equation
One of the most important predictions of the Maxwell equations is the existence of
electromagnetic waves which can transport energy. The simplest solutions are plane
waves in innite media, and we shall explore these now.
Consider a material in which
B = H D = E J = = 0. (1)
Then the Maxwell equations read
E = 0 B = 0 E =
1
c
B
t
B =

c
E
t
. (2)
Now we do several simple manipulations that will become second nature. First take
the curl of one of the curl equations, e.g., Faradays law, to nd
(E) = ( E)
2
E =
1
c

t
(B) =

c
2

2
E
t
2
, (3)
where the generalized Amp`eres law was employed in the last step. Because the
divergence of E is zero, this equation may be written as
_

c
2

2
t
2
_
E = 0. (4)
3
Identical manipulations starting from Amp`eres law rather than Faradays law also
lead to
_

c
2

2
t
2
_
B = 0. (5)
Thus any Cartesian component of E or B obeys a classical wave equation of the form
_

1
v
2

2
t
2
_
(x, t) = 0, (6)
where v = c/

.
There is a simple set of complex traveling wave solutions to this equation. They
are of the form
u
k
(x, t) = e
i(kxt)
(7)
where = vk and k is any real vector.
1
Notice that the derivatives of this function
are
u
k
= iku
k

2
u
k
= k
2
u
k
u
k
t
= iu
k

2
u
k
t
2
=
2
u
k
. (8)
Hence
_

1
v
2

2
t
2
_
u
k
=
_
k
2
+

2
v
2
_
u
k
= 0, (9)
demonstrating that we do indeed have a solution of the wave equation.
This solution is a wave traveling in the direction of k in the sense that a point
of constant phase, meaning k x t = constant, moves along this direction with a
speed v which is /k. Furthermore, we have a plane wave, by which we mean that a
surface of constant phase is a plane; in particular, the surfaces of constant phase are
just planes perpendicular to k.
1
This vector is real if and are real; they can be complex, in which case there are still solutions
of this form with complex k.
4
v= /k
Plane of stationary phase
Fig.1: A point of stationary phase moves with velocity [v[ = /k
1.2 Conditions Imposed by Maxwells Equations
Next, let us see how the electromagnetic elds can be described in terms of these
scalar plane waves. Let us look for an electric eld and a magnetic induction with
the forms
E(x, t) = E
0
e
i(kxt)
B(x, t) = B
0
e
i(kxt)
(10)
with the understanding that the true elds are the real parts of these complex ex-
pressions.
In addition to satisfying the wave equation, the complex elds must be solutions of
the Maxwell equations. Let us see what additional constraints are thereby imposed.
Consider rst the divergence equations; these require that
0 = B(x, t) =
_
B
0
e
i(kxt)
_
= ik B
0
e
i(kxt)
(11)
and
0 = E(x, t) =
_
E
0
e
i(kxt)
_
= ik E
0
e
i(kxt)
. (12)
Or
k B
0
= 0 and k E
0
= 0. (13)
These conditions mean that B
0
and E
0
must be perpendicular to k, which is to say,
parallel to the surfaces of constant phase and perpendicular to the direction in which
5
the surface of constant phase is moving. Such an electromagnetic wave is called a
transverse wave. Notice that this nomenclature is consistent with our denition in
the last chapter of a transverse vector eld as one having zero divergence.
There are further conditions on the amplitudes E
0
and B
0
from the other Maxwell
equations. From the Amp`ere law one has
B(x, t) =

c
E(x, t)
t
(14)
which leads to
ik B
0
=
i
c
E
0
(15)
or
E
0
=
k B
0
k

=
n B
0

(16)
where n = k/k is a unit vector in the direction of propagation of the wave. From
Faradays Law and similar manipulations one nds the further, and nal condition
that
B
0
=

(n E
0
); (17)
however, one may also nd this relation from Eq. (16) and the condition that nB
0
= 0
and so it is not an additional constraint. Alternatively, one may derive Eq. (16) from
Eq. (17) and the condition n E
0
= 0. As a consequence, one may, for example, write
E(x, t) = E
0
e
i(kxt)
(18)
where the only condition on E
0
is n E
0
= 0. Then B(x, t) follows from Eq. (17) and
is
B(x, t) =

(n E
0
)e
i(kxt)
. (19)
Alternatively, we may start by writing
B(x, t) = B
0
e
i(kxt)
(20)
where B
0
is orthogonal to k, n B
0
= 0. Then E(x, t) is given from Eq. (16) as
E(x, t) =
n B
0

e
i(kxt)
. (21)
6
From these conditions, and those obtained in the previous paragraph, we may con-
clude that E, B and k form a mutually orthogonal set.
Before leaving this section, lets look at the time-averaged energy density and
Poynting vector in such electromagnetic waves. We shall write them in terms of the
amplitude E
0
. First,
< S >=
c
8
'[E(x, t) H

(x, t)] =
c
8

'[E
0
(n E

0
)] =
c
8

[E
0
[
2
n. (22)
Similarly,
< u >=
1
16
'(E(x, t) D

(x, t) +B(x, t) H

(x, t)] =

8
[E
0
[
2
. (23)
The time-averaged momentum density is:
< g >=
1
8c
'[E(x, t) H

(x, t)] =
_
/
8c
[E
0
[
2
n. (24)
The evaluation of the time-averaged Maxwell stress tensor is left as an exercise.
2 Polarization
In this section we address the question of the most general possible monochromatic
plane wave, which amounts to asking what are the possible choices of E
0
. Let us
specify that k = k
3
and suppose that we have an orthogonal right-handed set of
real unit basis vectors
i
, i = 1, 2, 3. Then it must be the case that E
0

3
= 0 which
means that the most general amplitude E
0
can be expanded as
E
0
= E
01

1
+ E
02

2
. (25)
The scalar amplitudes in this expansion can be complex so we have in all four real
amplitudes which we may choose with complete abandon. Let us write the complex
scalar amplitudes in polar form,
E
01
= E
1
e
i
1
E
02
= E
2
e
i
2
(26)
7
where E
i
and
i
, i = 1, 2, are real. Further, introduce
E
0
= (E
2
1
+ E
2
2
)
1/2
and =
2

1
. (27)
Then the complex eld becomes
E(x, t) = E
0

1
_

1
+ (
2
/
1
)e
i

2
_
e
i(k
3
xt)
e
i
1
(28)
where
i
= E
i
/E
0
and
2
1
+
2
2
= 1. In this form, the wave is seen to have just
two interesting parameters,
2
/
1
and
2

1
; these specify the relative phase and
amplitude of the two components of the vector amplitude. The other two parameters
simply to set the overall magnitude of the eld and its absolute phase
2
.
Look at the real part of the complex wave as a function of time at a point in space
which is conveniently taken to be the origin. Aside from the overall magnitude and
phase, the wave looks like
E
1
cos(t) + (
2
/
1
)
2
cos(t ). (29)
If we map out the path traced by the tip of this vector in the space of
1
and
2
, we
nd in general an ellipse. The ellipse is characterized by two parameters, equivalent
to
2
/
1
and , these being its eccentricity (the ratio of the semi-minor to the semi-
major axis) and the amount by which the major axis is rotated relative to some xed
direction such as that of
1
. Such a wave is said to be elliptically polarized, the term
polarization referring to the behavior of the electric eld at a point as a function
of time. There are two limiting special cases. One is when the eccentricity is unity in
which case the ellipse becomes a circle and the wave is said to be circularly polarized;
the second is when the eccentricity becomes zero so that the ellipse reduces to a line
and the wave is linearly polarized.
2
These will, of course, be interesting if the wave meets another wave; but they are not interesting
if there is no other wave.
8
= 0
/ =1
= /2
2
1
2
Fig.2: linearly (
2
= 0) and circularly (
2
/
1
= 1 = /2) polarized
Often one uses a set of complex basis vectors in which
1
and
2
are replaced by
vectors

dened by

2
(
1
i
2
). (30)
These have the properties

3
= 0

= 0

= 1, (31)
and it is possible to write the electric eld of a general plane wave as
E(x, t) = (E
+

+
+ E

)e
i(kxt)
, (32)
where E
+
and E

are arbitrary complex constants. If just one of these is non-zero

and is written in polar form, then, aside from phase, the complex electric eld at a
point is
E = [E

[
1

2
(
1
i
2
)e
it
. (33)
The real part then varies as
1
cos(t)
2
sin(t) which is a circularly polarized wave.
In the case of the upper sign, one says that the wave is left-circularly polarized or that
it has positive helicity; in the case of the lower sign, it is right-circularly polarized
or has negative helicity. In writing the general wave in terms of these basis vectors,
we have expressed it as a superposition of positive and negative helicity waves with
amplitudes E
+
and E

, respectively.
9
3 Boundary Conditions; Waves at an Interface
In this section, we shall nd out what plane waves must look like in semi-innite
media or when there is a planar boundary between two nonconducting materials such
as air (or vacuum) and glass. We will need appropriate continuity conditions on the
elds at the interface. There may be derived from general kinematic considerations,
and from Maxwell equations.
The basic example from which all cases may be inferred is that of a planar interface
located at z = 0 dividing space into two regions, z < 0 and z > 0. In the former, we
assume an insulating material with dielectric constant and permeability ; in the
latter there is another insulating material with

and

.
z=0 reflected wave
refracted or transmitted wave
incident wave

Now suppose that from the left, or z < 0, there is an incident wave which has
electromagnetic elds
E(x, t) = E
0
e
i(kxt)
, B(x, t) =

k E(x, t)
k
. (34)
Also, k =

/c, and k z > 0 so that the wave is approaching the interface. Finally,
E
0
is such that k E
0
= 0.
The incident wave is a solution of the Maxwell equations in the region z < 0. At
the interface, however, it is not a solution; there must be other waves present in order
to satisfy the Maxwell equations (or boundary conditions) here. To phrase it another
way, when the incident wave hits the interface, additional waves, called transmitted
(or refracted) and reected waves must be generated. The refracted waves are the
10
ones that propagate into the medium at z > 0; the reected waves are the ones that
propagate back into the other medium.
3.1 Kinematic Conditions
We can, from quite general considerations, learn a lot about the properties of the
reected and refracted waves.
First, in order that the continuity conditions remain satised at all times, given
that they are satised at one instant of time, these waves must have the same time
dependence as the incident wave. This statement follows from the linear nature of
the eld equations (each term in the equations is proportional to some component of
one of the elds). Hence, all elds vary in time as e
it
.
In order to satisfy the B.C. at any
instant of time, the reflected and
transmitted waves must have the
same time dependence as the
incident wave (i.e. same frequency).
Second, the continuity conditions must be satised at all points on the interface
or z = 0 plane. Suppose that they are satised at one particular point, such as x = 0.
Then, in order that they remain so for other points on the interface, each wave must
vary in the same fashion as each of the other waves as one moves in the plane of the
interface. This statement follows, as does the rst one, from the linearity of the eld
equations. Now, since the dependence of a plane wave on position is exp(ik x), this
condition means that all waves (incident, reected, and refracted) must have wave
vectors whose components lying in the plane of the interface are identical.
11
In order to satisfy the B.C. at any
point along the interface, the
components of k which lie in the
plane must be identical for the
incident, reflected and refracted waves.
i
n
c
i
d
e
n
t
w
a
v
e
refracted wave
r
e
f
l
e
c
t
e
d
w
a
v
e
We can express this condition as
n k = n k

= n k

(35)
where k

and k

are, respectively, the wave vectors of any refracted and reected

waves. This relation may also be written as
k sin i = k

sin r

= k

sin r (36)
where i, r

, and r are the angles between the wavevectors of the incident, reected,
and transmitted waves and the normal to the interface. They are called the angle of
incidence, the angle of reection, and the angle of refraction.
k
k
k
r
i r



n
x
z
Figure 6: Denition of the angles i, r

, and r
Finally, any reected wave is a solution of the same wave equation as the incident
wave; consequently, it has a wave number k

= k. Any transmitted wave, however,

has wave number k

/c, so k

,= k. If we combine these statements with

Eq. (36), we can see that r

= i, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reection.

12
For a transmitted wave, however, the wave equation is such that k

/c which
is not k; in fact, k

/n

= k/n where
n

and n

(37)
are the indices of refraction in the two materials. Using these denitions in Eq. (36)
we nd
nsin i = n

sin r (38)
which is known in optics as Snells Law.
3.2 Conditions from Maxwells Equations
Notice that we derived Snells law and the statement i = r

without using explicitly

the continuity conditions; we had only to use the fact that there are linear continuity
conditions. Hence these properties are called kinematic properties (they dont depend
on the particular dynamics of the elds which are given by the Maxwell equations)
and they are applicable to much more than just electromagnetic phenomena.
To fully develop the rules of reection and refraction for electromagnetic waves,
we must use the Maxwell equations to tell us the specic relations among the elds
and then must apply the continuity conditions at a specic point on the interface,
such as x = 0, and at a specic time, such as t = 0
3
.
D = 4, B = 0, H =
4
c
J +
1
c
D
t
, E =
1
c
B
t
. (39)
3
For other points and times we know that the conditions will be satised by making sure the
kinematic conditions derived above are satised.
13
1
2
n
da
n
Figure 3: Integration surfaces used for the B.C.
Application of the divergence theorem to the two divergence equations using the
familiar pillbox construction leads, as for the static case, to the continuity conditions
(D
1
D
2
) n = 4 (40)
(B
2
B
1
) n = 0 (41)
where n is a unit outward normal from material 1 and is the macroscopic surface-
charge density. Application of Stokes theorem to the curl equations in the usual
way leads to
n (E
2
E
1
) = 0 (42)
n (H
2
H
1
) =
4
c
K (43)
where K is the macroscopic surface-current density lying inside of the loop C to
which Stokes theorem is applied. Notice that the time derivatives in Faradays law
and Amp`eres law do not contribute to the continuity conditions.
4
For uncharged insulators, the surface sources and K are always zero; then the
continuity conditions are especially simple and state that the normal components of
D and B are continuous as are the tangential components of H and E.
At x = 0, t = 0, the elds of an incident wave, a single transmitted wave, and a
single reected wave
5
may be written as follows:
4
We have assumed that there are no singular parts of the time derivatives localized at the inter-
face; were there any such contributions, they would show up in the continuity conditions.
5
We dont know at this point that we need only one reected and one transmitted wave to obtain
a solution to the boundary value problem. By construction, we will see that such is the case.
14
Incident wave:
E = E
0
B =
n
k
(k E
0
) (44)
Reected wave:
E = E

0
B =
n
k
(k

0
) (45)
Transmitted wave:
E = E

0
B =
n

(k

0
) =
n
k
(k

0
). (46)
We suppose that we are given n, n

, k, and E
0
; we need to nd k

, k

, E

0
, and E

0
. The
wave vectors follow from the kinematic relations; they all lie in the plane containing
the normal to the interface and the incident wave vector, called the plane of incidence
and make angles with the normal as discussed above. As for the amplitudes, they are
found from the continuity conditions:
1. D
n
continuous:
(E
0
+E

0
) n =

0
n (47)
2. B
n
continuous:
(k E
0
+k

0
) n = (k

0
) n (48)
3. E
t
continuous:
(E
0
+E

0
) n = E

0
n (49)
4. H
t
continuous:
1

(k E
0
+k

0
) n =
1

(k

0
) n. (50)
It is a messy bit of algebra to solve these equations in the general case. The task can
be made simpler by writing the incident waves electric eld as a linear combination
of two linearly polarized waves, which is always possible. One solves each of these
cases separately. The appropriate sum of the two solutions is then the solution of the
original problem. Once again, the linearity of the eld equations leads to enormous
simplication of the algebra. The two cases that we are going to treat are
15
1. polarization of E
0
perpendicular to the plane of incidence and
2. polarization parallel to the plane of incidence.
3.2.1 Polarization of E
0
Perpendicular to the Plane
k
k k
r
i



n
i
B
B
B
E
E
E
Figure 7: Polarization of E
0
perpendicular to the plane of incidence
The gure sets the conventions for the rst case. They are such that E
0
=
E
0
y, E

0
= E

0
y, and E

0
= E

0
y. Remember also that k

= k, k/n = k

/n

, and
nsin i = n

sin r. Now apply the four continuity conditions. The rst gives nothing
because there is no normal component of the electric displacement or electric eld;
the second gives E
0
+ E

0
= E

0
; the third gives the same constraint as the second;
and the fourth results in (k/) cos i (E
0
E

0
) = (k

) cos r E

0
. Since k

= kn

/n
and n =

, we can write the latter as
_
/cos i (E
0
E

0
) =
_

cos r E

0
. In
addition, cos r =

1 sin
2
r =
_
1 (n/n

)
2
sin
2
i. Combining these relations we
nd the two conditions
E

0
E

0
= E
0

1
_
n
n

_
2
sin
2
i E

0
+

cos i E

0
=

cos i E
0
. (51)
Notice that these are written entirely in terms of the angle of incidence; the angle of
refraction does not appear. Their solution is easily shown to be
E

0
=
2ncos i
ncos i + (/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
E
0
16
and
E

0
=
ncos i (/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
ncos i + (/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
E
0
(52)
3.2.2 Polarization of E
0
Parallel to the Plane
k
k k
r
i



n
i
B
B
B
E
E E
Figure 8: Polarization of E
0
parallel to the plane of incidence
The second case, polarization in the plane of incidence may be similarly analyzed.
The gure shows the conventions for this case. They are such that E
0
= E
0
(sin i z
cos i x), E

0
= E

0
(sin r z cos r x), and E

0
= E

0
(sin i z + cos i x). The rst boundary
condition implies that sin i (E
0
+ E

0
) =

sin r E

0
; the second gives nothing; the
third gives cos i (E
0
+ E

0
) = cos r E

0
; and the fourth gives a condition that is
redundant with the rst when Snells law is invoked. Thus we may write the two
conditions, after removing all occurrences of r as in the rst case, as

(E
0
+ E

0
) =

0
cos i (E
0
+ E

0
) =
_
1 (n/n

)
2
sin
2
i E

0
. (53)
Their solution is
E

0
=
2nn

cos i
(/

)n
2
cos i + n

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
E
0
and
E

0
=
(/

)n
2
cos i n

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
(/

)n
2
cos i + n

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
E
0
(54)
Our solutions to the reection-refraction problem have the following characteris-
tics by design. First, as mentioned above, they involve only the angle of incidence,
17
the angle of refraction having been removed wherever it appeared by using Snells
law; second, the material properties enter through the permeabilities and indices of
refraction as opposed to the permeabilities and dielectric constants. The reason is
that for most of the materials one encounters, =

= 1 and so the permeabilities

drop out of the relations. Second, one is generally more likely to be given an index
of refraction than a dielectric constant and so expressing the amplitudes in terms of
n makes them more readily applicable.
6
Equations (52) and (54) are known as Fresnels equations; with them we can
calculate the reection and transmission of a plane wave at a planar interface for
arbitrary initial polarization. Such an incident wave gives rise to a single reected
plane wave and a single transmitted plane wave, meaning that there is just one
reected wave vector k

and one transmitted wave vector k

.
3.3 Parallel Interfaces
With a little thought we may see how to generalize to the case of two (or more)
parallel interfaces. Consider the gure showing two parallel interfaces separating
three materials. If we follow the consequences of an incident plane wave from the
rst material on one side we can see that the reection processes within the middle
material of the sandwich generate many plane waves in here, but that these waves
have just two distinct wave vectors.
E
E
E
E
E
0
0
0
r
r
6
Of course, the relation between n and is suciently simple that there is really no great
dierence.
18
Figure 9: Plane wave incident on a sandwich.
Also, all waves transmitted into the third material have the same wave vector, and
the reected waves in the rst medium all have a single wave vector. Hence one
nds that in the rst medium, there are just two waves with electric elds
E = E
0
e
i(kxt)
E
r
= E
r0
e
i(krxt)
; (55)
in the middle medium there are again just two distinct waves with elds
E

= E

0
e
i(k

xt)
E

r
= E

r0
e
i(k

r
xt)
(56)
and in the third medium there is just one plane wave with eld
E

= E

0
e
i(k

xt)
. (57)
To nd the four amplitudes E
r0
, E

0
, E

r0
, and E

0
, one must apply the boundary
conditions at the two interfaces, leading to four distinct linear relations involving
these amplitudes and that of the incident wave, E
0
. Solving these equations, one
nds the amplitudes of all waves in terms of that of the incident wave.
Returning briey to Fresnels equations for reection and refraction at a single
interface, let us look at the special case of normal incidence, i = 0. then r = 0 also,
and the rst set (polarization normal to the plane of incidence) of Fresnel equations
tells us that
7
E

0
=
2n
n + (/

)n

E
0
E

0
=
n (/

)n

n + (/

)n

E
0
. (58)
These are simple results, especially when =

. They clearly tell us that when the

two materials have comparable indices of refraction and permeabilities, the wave is
mostly transmitted and when they have very dierent properties (an engineer would
7
Actually, both sets of Fresnel equations are applicable for normal incidence. The second set,
however, will produce a result with some signs switched as a consequence of the dierent conventions
used for the directions of the electric elds in the two cases.
19
call that impedance mismatch), reection is the rule. Notice also that if n

> n,
the reected amplitude is opposite in sign to the incident one, meaning that the
electric eld of the reected wave is phase shifted by radians relative to that of the
incident one under these circumstances.
4 Reection and Transmission Coecients
In this section we look at the power or energy transmitted and reected at an interface
between two insulators. To do so, we must evaluate the time-averaged power in the
incident, reected, and transmitted waves which is done by calculating the Poynting
vector. The energy current density toward or away from the interface is then given by
the component of the Poynting vector in the direction normal to the interface. In the
second medium, where there is just a single (refracted) wave, the normal component
of S is unambiguously the transmitted power per unit area. But in the rst medium,
the total electromagnetic eld is the sum of the elds of the incident and reected
waves. In evaluating E H, one nds three kinds of terms. There is one which
is the cross-product of the elds in the incident wave, and its normal component
gives the incident power per unit area. A second is the cross-product of the elds
in the reected wave, giving the reected power. But there are also two cross-terms
involving the electric eld of one of the plane waves and the magnetic eld of the
other one. It turns out that the time-average of the normal component of these terms
is zero, so that they may be ignored in the present context. Bearing this in mind, we
have the following quantities of interest:
The time-averaged incident power per unit area:
T =< S > n =
c
8

[E
0
[
2
k n
k
(59)
The time-averaged reected power per unit area:
T

= < S

> n =
c
8

[E

0
[
2
k

n
k
(60)
20
The time-averaged transmitted power per unit area:
T

=< S

> n =
c
8

[E

0
[
2
k

n
k

d (61)
The reection coecient R and the transmission coecient T are dened as the ratios
of the reected and transmitted power to the incident power.
We may calculate the reection and transmission coecients for the cases of po-
larization perpendicular and parallel to the plane of incidence by using the Fresnel
equations. If an incident wave has general polarization so that its elds are linear
combinations of these two special cases, then there is once again the possibility of
cross terms in the power involving an electric eld with one type of polarization and
a magnetic eld with the other type. Fortunately, these turn out to vanish, so that
one may treat the two polarizations individually.
For the case of polarization perpendicular to the plane of incidence, we
use the Fresnel equations (52) and (54) for the reected and transmitted amplitudes
and have
T =
_

4n
2
cos
2
i cos r
(ncos i+(/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i)
2
_

cos i
(62)
Making use of the relations n =

, n

, sin r = (n/n

) sin i, and cos i =

1 sin
2
i, one nds that
T =
4n(/

) cos i

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
[ncos i + (/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i ]
2
. (63)
By similar means one can write the reection coecient as
R =
[ncos i (/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i ]
2
[ncos i + (/

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i ]
2
(64)
By inspection one can see that R+T = 1 which expresses the conservation of energy;
what is not transmitted is reected.
The case of polarization in the plane of incidence is treated similarly. One
nds
T =
4nn
2
(/

) cos i

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i
[(/

)n
2
cos i + n

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i ]
2
(65)
21
and
R =
[(/

)n
2
cos i n

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i ]
2
[(/

)n
2
cos i + n

n
2
n
2
sin
2
i ]
2
. (66)
Once again, R + T = 1.
5 Examples
5.1 Polarization by Reection
From inspection of Fresnels equations, we can see that the relative amounts of trans-
mitted and reected amplitude depend on the state of polarization and are distinctly
not the same for both polarizations.
n- n
n+n
( )
2
R
i
i
B
/2
1
= =1
n>n

tan ( ) i - r
tan ( ) i +r
2
2
R
=
=
sin ( ) i - r
sin ( ) i +r
2
2
R =

Figure 10: Reection Coecient when n

> n, and

= = 1
That means that in the general case, the polarizations of the transmitted and reected
waves will not be the same as that of the incident one. A very special case has to do
with the reected wave given incident polarization in the plane of incidence. We see
that the reected amplitude will vanish if
8
n
2
cos i = n
_
n
2
n
2
sin
2
i. (67)
Squaring this relation we nd
n
4
cos
2
i = n
2
n
2
n
4
sin
2
i = n
4
(1 sin
2
i) or sin
2
i =
n
2
n
2
+ n
2
or tan i =
n

n
. (68)
8
We let =

in this section unless explicitly stated otherwise; keeping the permeability around
usually contributes nothing but extra work and obfuscation.
22
This special angle of incidence is called the Brewster angle,
i
B
= arctan(n

/n); (69)
i
r
B
E
E
Figure 11: No reected wave when i = i
B
and the eld is polarized in the plane.
a wave polarized in the plane of incidence and incident on the interface at the Brew-
ster angel is completely transmitted with no reected wave. If a wave of general
polarization is incident at the Brewster angle, then the reected wave is completely
(linearly) polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence. Hence this phenomenon
provides a method for obtaining a linearly polarized wave from an unpolarized one.
More generally, if the angle of incidence is reasonably close to the Brewster angle, the
reected light is to a large degree polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence.
This fact is utilized by polarizing sun glasses which screen out most of the light po-
larized parallel to the surface of the earth, which is to say, most of the light reected
by the earth.
sun
beach
ocean
E

=
E
Figure 12: Light reected from the ocean (glare) is largely polarized along the
horizon, and may be removed with polarized sunglasses.
23
5.2 Total Internal Reection
As a second example we look at the phenomenon of total internal reection which
is the opposite of the one just considered in that no energy is transmitted across an
interface under appropriate conditions. Suppose that n > n

. As shown in the gure,

this means that r > i.
n
n
ic
Figure 13: A series of angles when n > n

.
Now consider an incident wave with i large enough that nsin i > n

. How can we
have a refracted wave with r such that Snells law, nsin i = n

sin r is satised? Recall

our argument for Snells law; it was based on the fact that the wave vector k

of the
refracted wave had to have a component k

t
parallel to the interface equal to the same
component of the incident wave. Given that nsin i > n

, this condition means that k

t
is larger than n

/c which is supposed to be the magnitude of k

, according to the
wave equation. But there is a way around this. The condition that comes from the
wave equation is that, if k

t
and k

n
are respectively the components of k

tangential
and normal to the interface, then k
2
t
+ k
2
n
=
2
n
2
/c
2
. If k

t
> n

/c, we can satisfy

this condition by having k

n
be imaginary. In particular,
k

n
= i
n
c
_
sin
2
i (n

/n)
2
. (70)
The choice of sign has to be such as to produce a wave that damps away to nothing
in the second medium; otherwise it becomes exceedingly large (which is unphysical
behavior) as one moves far away from the interface. Now that we have gured out
what is k

; that is, k

t
= (n/c) sin i and k

n
is given by Eq. (70), we can see the
24
character of the transmitted electric eld. It is
E

e
ik

t
x
e
|k

n
|z
e
it
(71)
where x is the direction of the tangential component of k.
The Poynting vector for a wave of this sort has no component directed normal to
the interface although there is one parallel to the interface. To see this, take E to be
in the y-direction.
x
z
i
c
E
Figure 14: Polarization to the plane of incidence.
Then
E

= E

0
e
i(k

t
xt)
e
|k

n
|z
so that
S

z
=
c
8
'(E

)
z
=
c
8
'
_
E

y
B

x
_
.
We may use Faradays law to relate E to B
E =
1
c
B
t

i
c
B

x
= [k

n
[E

y
.
Thus,
S

z
=
c
8
'
_
E

y
c[k

n
[
i
E

y
_
= 0
Thus, as shown in the gure below, when i > i
c
, the power is totally reected.
25
n- n
n+n
( )
2
R
i
i
B
/2
1
= =1
n<n

tan ( ) i - r
tan ( ) i +r
2
2
R
=
=
sin ( ) i - r
sin ( ) i +r
2
2
R =

Figure 15: Reection Coecient when n > n

, and

= = 1
What we have is therefore a surface wave conned to the region close to the interface
and transporting energy parallel to it. Moreover, by evaluating the Poynting vector
of the reected and incident waves, one nds that as much energy is reected from
the interface as is incident upon it. Hence we have the phenomenon of perfect or
total reection of the incident wave. This phenomenon is utilized in ber optics; an
electromagnetic wave is propagated inside of a thin tube of some material having a
large index of refraction and surrounded by another material having a much smaller
index. Wherever the wave is incident upon the wall of the tube, it is completely
reected.
air n=1
glass n>1
i
i is large
Figure 16: Total internal reection occurs within a ber optic tube.
There is some natural attenuation of the wave because of imperfect dielectric prop-
erties of the material itself or its coating; nevertheless, a beam of light, for example,
can be transmitted long distances and around many curves (as long as they arent
too sharp) in such a pipe.
26
6 Models of Dielectric Functions
The dielectric constant of almost any material is in fact a function of frequency,
meaning that it has dierent values for waves of dierent frequencies.
v
1
v
2
v
1
v
2
=
Figure 17: In a dispersive medium waves of dierent frequencies have dierent
phase velocities v = c/
_
().
We can make a simple model of the dielectric function of an insulating material
as follows: Suppose that the charges which primarily respond to an electric eld are
electrons bound on atoms or molecules. Let one such electron be harmonically bound,
meaning that the binding forces are treated as linear in the displacement of the charge
from its equilibrium position. Also, let there be a damping force proportional to the
velocity v of the electron. Then, if the mass and charge of the electron are m and e,
the equation of motion of the electron under the inuence of an electric eld E(x, t)
is
m
_
d
2
x
dt
2
+
dx
dt
+
2
0
x
_
= eE(x, t). (72)
The harmonic restoring force is expressed through a natural frequency of oscillation

0
of the electron. We have ignored the possible inuence of a magnetic induction
B(x, t) on the electrons motion. Typically this force is much smaller than the electric
eld force because the electrons speed is much smaller than c; there can be exceptions,
however, and one of them is explored below.
Next, the typical magnitude of the electrons displacement [x[ is on the order of
an atomic size.
27

e
-
x
If x << , then E(x,t) ~ E(0,t)
Figure 18: If the wavelength of the incident wave is much larger than the electronic
displacement, then we may neglect the spacial dependence of E(x, t).
If the electric eld E(x, t) is that of visible or even ultraviolet light, then the displace-
ment is much smaller than distances over which E(x, t) varies signicantly, meaning
that we can approximate E(x, t) E(0, t) = E
0
exp(it). In this limit, the solution
we seek is of the form x(t) = x
0
exp(it). Substituting into the equation of motion,
we nd that the equation for the amplitude of the motion is
m(
2
i +
2
0
)x
0
= eE
0
(73)
or
x
0
=
eE
0
m(
2
0
i
2
)
. (74)
The amplitude of the dipole moment associated with the motion of this electron
is p
0
= ex
0
. To nd the polarization, we need to compute the dipole moments of
all electrons in some nite volume of material. These electrons will not all have the
same damping or natural frequencies, so let us say that there are n molecules per unit
volume with z electrons each. If f
i
of the electrons on each molecule have resonant
frequency
i
and damping constant
i
, then we get a polarization or dipole moment
per unit volume which varies harmonically with an amplitude
P
0
= e
2
E
0
n

j
_
f
j
m(
2
j
i
j

2
)
_
; (75)
this is also the relation between E(x, t) and P(x, t). If we further say that E(x, t)
28
is the macroscopic eld
9
, then we can write D = E + 4P = E with the preceding
expression for the polarization. The result is an expression for ():
() = 1 +
4ne
2
m

j
_
f
j

2
j
i
j

2
_
(76)
or
() = 1 +
4nze
2
m

j
_
f
j
z
__

2
j

2
+ i
j
(
2
j

2
)
2
+
2

2
j
_

1
+ i
2
(77)
where
1
and
2
are real.
In a typical term of the sum, dierent regimes of the relative sizes of ,
j
, and

j
give rise to very dierent behaviors. The resonant frequencies are, when Plancks
constant is thrown in, comparable to binding energies of electrons which are on the
order of a few electron-volts, so that
j
is of order 10
15
sec
1
, much the same as
optical frequencies. The damping constants tend to be somewhat smaller, perhaps
of order 10
12
sec1 (see below). Starting from low frequencies, <<
2
j
and also

j
<<
2
j
, then we can approximate the dielectric function as
() 1 +
4ne
2
m

f
j

2
j
(78)
which is a constant. Now, as increases from a low value, the real part of will also
increase (slowly at rst); when it gets to within about
j
of the smallest
j
, there is a
resonance (the electron is being pushed by the electric eld at a frequency close to
its natural frequency) which will show up in
1
as a sudden rise, fall, and rise. After
this,
1
is again roughly constant. There are as many such resonances as there are
distinct resonant frequencies or terms in the sum over j.
The rapid variation of the dielectric function in the vicinity of a resonance also
produces a rapidly varying index of refraction, meaning that waves with relatively
9
In this we follow Jackson, but remember the Clausius-Mossotti relation from last quarter; we
argued that the electric eld which produces the polarization should be the local eld and not the
macroscopic eld. It is not dicult to make the necessary corrections to what is given here.
29
Figure 1: Real and imaginary parts of near resonances
close frequencies propagate with quite dierent speeds. The frequency regime where

1
decreases with increasing is known as a region of anomalous dispersion.
The imaginary part of also behaves in an interesting fashion near a resonance.
Because the denominator of the resonant term in () gets quite small at =
j
while the numerator for the imaginary part does not get small, there is a pronounced
peak in
2
here. The smaller the value of
j
, the bigger the peak. A large imaginary
part of the dielectric function produces strong damping or absorption of the wave, so a
region of anomalous dispersion is also a region of strong absorption, termed resonant
absorption.
Finally, for very large in comparison with any other frequency in the system

j
, the dielectric function once again becomes simple and has the form
() = 1
4nze
2
m
2
1

2
p

2
(79)
where we have introduced the plasma frequency of the electron system,

4nze
2
m
. (80)
30
For typical values of n in solids, this frequency is of order 10
16
sec
1
which is as large
as or larger than the frequency of visible light. Our result is interesting in that the
dielectric function is smaller than unity in this regime of frequency, meaning that a
point of constant phase in a harmonic wave actually travels faster than the speed
of light c. Even more remarkable is the possibility that () < 0 in some range of
frequency. For this to occur it is necessary to have <
p
but at the same time
must be considerably larger than any resonant frequency
j
and also larger than
the damping parameters
j
. Such conditions can be attained in some materials; a
simple example is a tenuous plasma, or gas of charged particles. Then the resonant
frequencies are all zero, the plasma frequency is rather low because the density of
charges is not large, and the damping is small. See the following section.
6.1 Dielectric Response of Free Electrons
Some special cases are also worthy of mention. One is the case of free electrons.
For these electrons there is no restoring force and so we may set the corresponding

j
, called
0
, to zero. This has a profound eect on the dielectric function at low
frequencies. If we extract the free-electron term from the remainder of the dielectric
function and regard the latter as some constant
0
at low frequencies (see Eq. (78)),
then we have
=
0

4nf
0
e
2
m( + i
0
)
=
0
+ i
4nf
0
e
2
m(
0
i)
. (81)
This thing is singular as 0, reecting the fact that in the zero-frequency limit,
the free electrons will be displaced arbitrarily far from their initial positions by any
small electric eld, producing a very large polarization. The singular term in in fact
represents the conductivity of the free-electron material. To see how it is related to
the conductivity, let us examine Amp`eres law using this dielectric function and no
macroscopic current J, as this current will be included in the dielectric response (the
31
polarization produced by the free electrons). From H = c
1
D/t, we nd
H = i

c
_

0
+ i
4nf
0
e
2
m(
0
i)
_
E =
4
c
nf
0
e
2
m(
0
i)
E i

c

0
E. (82)
By contrast, we may choose not to include the free electrons contribution to the
polarization in which case =
0
. Then, however, we have to include them as macro-
scopic current J; assuming linear response and isotropy, we may write J = E
where is the electrical conductivity. Using these relations, and Amp`eres law,
H = (4/c)J + c
1
D/t, we nd
H =
4
c
E i

c

0
E. (83)
Comparison of the two preceding equations shows that by including the contribution
of the free electrons in the polarization we have actually derived a simple expression
for the conductivity,
=
nf
0
e
2
m(
0
i)

nf
0
e
2
m
0
, (84)
the last expression holding in the zero-frequency or static limit.
Comparison of measured conductivities with this result gives one an estimate of
the damping constant. In very good metallic conductors such as Cu or Ag,
10
17
sec
1
. The free-electron density is of order 10
22
cm
3
and so one is led to
0

10
13
sec
1
which is considerably smaller than typical resonant frequencies (for bound
electrons, of course).
7 A Model for the Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a region of the upper atmosphere which is ionized by solar radiation
(ultraviolet, x-ray, etc.). It may be simply described as a dilute gas of charged
particles, composed of electrons and protons or other heavy charged objects. The
dielectric properties of this medium are mainly produced by the lighter electrons, so
we shall include only them in our description. We then have just one kind of charge
32
and it has zero resonant frequency. Because the medium is dilute, the damping is
small; we shall ignore it. This is the approximation of a collisionless plasma and it
leaves us with a very simple dielectric function,
() = 1

2
p

2
. (85)
For frequencies smaller than the plasma frequency, () < 0, meaning that the wave
number is pure imaginary since k =

/c; the corresponding wave will not propagate

because its dependence on position is proportional to exp(ik x) or exp([k[z) given
that k | z
10
.
In the case of the ionosphere there is an additional complicating factor (which also
makes the problem more interesting); the earth has a magnetic eld which inuences
the motions of the electrons and hence the dielectric function. The equation of motion
of the charges, including this eld B
0
is
m
d
2
x
dt
2
= e
_
E +
1
c
_
dx
dt
B
0
__
. (86)
We ignore the eect of the waves magnetic induction. We shall also restrict (for
simplicity) attention to the case of k | B
0
and shall ignore the spatial variations
of E. In addition, and without loss of generality, we can let the wave have circular
polarization. Hence we write the electric eld as E = E
0

e
it
.
Under these conditions, x will be of the form x = x
0
e
it
; using this relation in
the equation of motion, we nd
m
2
x
0
= e
_
E
0

i
c
B
0
(x
0
z)
_
. (87)
The solution of this equation is x
0
= x
0

; one can see this easily if one realizes that

z = i

z =
1

2
( x i y) z =
1

2
( y i x) =
i

2
( x i y) = i

. (88)
10
For most laboratory plasmas, this occurs at microwave frequencies
33
Hence the equation of motion, using x
0
= x
0

, is
m
2
x
0

= e[E
0

B
0
x
0
c
]

. (89)
or
x
0
=
eE
0
/m
(
B
)
(90)
where
B
eB
0
/mc is the cyclotron frequency. From this point we may determine
the dielectric function by repeating the arguments used in the preceding section and
nd
() = 1

2
p
(
B
)
. (91)
Our result tells us that waves with dierent polarization elicit dierent dielectric
responses from the medium; such a phenomenon is known as birefringence. If a wave
of general polarization is incident upon the plasma, it is in eect broken into its two
circularly polarized components and these propagate independently. It is possible to
have a wave with a frequency such that for one component () < 0 and for the
other, () > 0. Hence, one will propagate and the other will not, providing a (not
particularly practical) way of producing a circularly polarized wave.
In the specic case of the ionosphere,
p
,
B
, and can all be quite compa-
rable. The density of electrons, which varies with the time of day and solar ac-
tivity, is typically 10
5
10
6
cm
3
, leading to
p
10
7
sec
1
. The earths eld
B
0
0.1 1.0 gauss, leading to
B
10
7
sec
1
. A wave with 10
7
sec
1
is in
the AM band; short-wave radio frequencies are somewhat higher, and FM radio or
television have considerably higher frequencies. This means that FM and television
signals are at frequencies so large that 1 and they propagate right through the
ionosphere without signicant reection or attenuation. For this reason, the signals
can be received only at locations where there is a direct path through the atmosphere
from transmitter to receiver. For the lower frequency signals (short-wave and AM),
however, there can be strong reection from the ionosphere, making it possible to
receive them relatively far from the transmitter. The higher the point in the iono-
sphere where the reection takes place, the greater the eective range of the signal.
34
Figure 2: Dielectric constants vs. for the ionosphere
35
Figure 3: Electron density vs. height in the ionosphere
Because the electron density increases with height (and then decreases again), the
higher frequencies tend to be reected at greater heights (if they are reected at all)
than the lower ones, thereby giving greater range. That is why short-wave signals
have longer range than AM signals, at least some of the time.
What happens if k is not parallel to B
0
? The medium is still birefringent so that
a wave of arbitrary polarization is broken into two components that propagate inde-
pendently; however, the two components are not simple circularly polarized waves.
In addition, the dielectric functions and hence the indices of refraction for these two
waves depend on the angle between B
0
and k, so the medium is not only birefringent
but also anisotropic.
8 Waves in a Dissipative Medium
We have seen in the preceding sections that the dielectric function will is general be
complex, reecting the fact that a wave will be dissipated or damped under many
conditions. It therefore behooves us to learn more about the properties of waves
when dissipation is present. As we have seen, we can do this by employing a complex
dielectric function, and we can also do it, with the same basic results, by letting
be real while introducing a real conductivity and thus a macroscopic current density.
36
We shall do the latter, for no particular reason.
Suppose that once again we have some linear medium with D = E, B = H,
and J = E; , , and are taken as real. Then the Maxwell equations become
B = 0, E = 0, E =
1
c
B
t
, (92)
and
B =
4
c
E +

c
E
t
. (93)
We have set equal to zero in these equations. It may be that there is initially some
macroscopic charge density within a conductor. If this is the case, that density will
decay to zero with a characteristic time on the order of
1
where is the damping
constant introduced in the section on dielectric functions; see Jackson, Problem 7.7.
Let us look for plane wave solutions to the eld equations. Set E(x, t) = E
0
e
i(kxt)
and B(x, t) = B
0
e
i(kxt)
. The divergence equations then tell us that B
0
k = 0 and
E
0
k = 0 as in a nondissipative medium. From Faradays law we nd the familiar
result
B
0
=
c

(k E
0
), (94)
and from the Amp`eres law we nd
i(k B
0
) =
4
c
E
0
i

c
E
0
. (95)
If we take the cross product of k with Eq. (94) and substitute Eq. (95) into the result
where k B
0
appears, we nd, after using k (k E
0
) = k
2
E
0
, that
i
4
c
E
0

c
E
0
=
ck
2

E
0
(96)
or
k
2
=

2

c
2
+ i
4
c
2
. (97)
Taking the point of view that is some given real frequency, we can solve this relation
for the corresponding wavenumber k, which is complex. If we write k = k
0
+i, then
37
the real and imaginary parts of Eq. (97) give us two equations which may be solved
for k
0
and :
k
2
0

2
=

2

c
2
2k
0
=

2

c
2
_
4

_
. (98)
The solution is
_

_
k
0

_
=

c
_
_

_
_
1 +
_
4

_
2
1
2
_

_
1/2
. (99)
where the + sign refers to k
0
and the - sign to .
This expression appears somewhat impenetrable although it doesnt say anything
unexpected or remarkable. It takes on simple forms in the limits of high and low
conductivity. The relevant dimensionless parameter is 4/. It if is much larger
than unity, corresponding to a good conductor, then
k
0

2
c

1

1 . (100)
where we have introduced the penetration depth . This is the distance that an
electromagnetic wave will penetrate into a good conductor before being attenuated to
a fraction 1/e of its initial amplitude. Since the wavelength of the wave is = 2/k
0
,
is also a measure of the wavelength in the conductor.
For a poor conductor, by which we mean 4/ << 1, one has
k
0
+ i

c
+ i
2
c
_

. (101)
Notice that in the latter case, the real part of the wavenumber is the same as in
a nonconducting medium and the imaginary part is independent of frequency so
that waves of all frequencies are attenuated by equal amounts over a given distance.
Also, << k
0
which tells us that the wave travels many wavelengths before being
attenuated signicantly.
For a given , is an increasing function of and saturates at high frequencies.
Therefore, if one wants a wave to travel as far as possible, one wants to use as low
freqency a wave as possible. Then one should be in the good-conductor limit where
38
the attenuation varies as

and vanishes as 0. A well-known application of this

rule has to do with radio communication with submarines; sea water is a reasonably
good conductor 10
11
sec
1
and so to communicate with a submerged boat, one
should send out low frequency signals which will penetrate to greater depths in the
ocean than more standard signals.
ocean
Figure 22: Low frequency waves can propagate through sea water.
Given that we have found the complex wave number, and letting k point in the
z-direction, we have
E(x, t) = E
0
e
i(k
0
zt)
e
z
; (102)
the corresponding magnetic induction is found in the usual way (take k E):
B(x, t) =
c

(k
0
+ i)( z E
0
)e
i(k
0
zt)
e
z
. (103)
Dene the complex index of refraction
n
c

k =
c

(k
0
+ i), (104)
so that
B = n( z E). (105)
Notice that because n is complex, B is not in phase with E; to make the phase
dierence explicit, let us write n in polar form:
n = [n[e
i
where = arctan
_

k
0
_
. (106)
39
We can nd [n[ and in terms of other parameters; let (4/)
2
. Then
= arctan
_
1 + 1

1 + + 1
_
1/2
. (107)
Consider tan(2):
tan(2) =
2 tan
1 tan
2

= 2
[(

1 + 1)/(

1 + + 1)]
1/2
1

1+1

1++1
= [(
_
1 + 1)(
_
1 + + 1)]
1/2
=

(108)
Thus,
=
1
2
arctan

=
1
2
arctan
_
4

_
. (109)
Also,
[n[ =
c

_
k
2
0
+
2
=

_
1 +
_
4

_
2
_
1/4
. (110)
Using these results in Eq. (105), we have
B(x, t) =

_
1 +
_
4

_
2
_
1/4
e
i
2
arctan(
4

)
( z E
0
). (111)
The amount by which B(x, t) is phase-shifted from E(x, t) is easily seen from this
expression to lie between 0 and /4; it is zero in the small / limit and /4 in the
large / limit. Another signicant feature of the expression for B(x, t) is that in the
small / limit, the amplitude of B relative to that of E is just

as for insulators.
But in the opposite limit, one nds that the relative amplitude is
_
4/ which
is much larger than unity. Here the wave has, relatively speaking, a much larger
magnetic induction than electric eld.
8.1 Reection of a Wave Normally Incident on a Conductor
As an example, let us calculate the reection of a wave normally incident on a con-
ductor from vacuum.
40
k
k

H H
E
E
E
k
H
y
z
conductor E=0
Figure 23: Wave normally incident on a conductor.
Then
k =

c
z k

=

c
n z, n =

(1 + )
1/4
e
i
. (112)
The relevant boundary conditions are H
t
and E
t
continuous. Let E
0
= E
0
x, E

0
=
E

0
x, and E

0
= E

0
x. The corresponding magnetic eld amplitudes are H
0
= E
0
y,
H

0
= E

0
y, and, for the transmitted wave in the conductor,
H

0
=

(1 + )
1/4
e
i
E

0
y. (113)
Our boundary conditions give immediately
E
0
+ E

0
= E

0
E
0
E

0
=

(1 + )
1/4
e
i
E

0
. (114)
These may be combined to yield
E

0
=
2
1 +

(1 + )
1/4
e
i
E
0
(115)
and
E

0
=
1
_
/(1 + )
1/4
e
i
1 +
_
/(1 + )
1/4
e
i
E
0
. (116)
Let us calculate the Poynting vector in the conductor. Its time average is
< S

>=
c
8
'(E

) =
c
8
'
_
_
_
4[E
0
[
2
_
/(1 + )
1/4
e
i
[1 +
_
/(1 + )
1/4
e
i
[
2
_
_
_
e
2z
z. (117)
41
Using the interpretation of this vector as the energy current density, we may nd the
power per unit area transmitted into the conductor by evaluating < S

> z at z = 0,
T

=
c
2
[E
0
[
2

(1 + )
1/4
cos
1 + 2
_
/cos (1 + )
1/4
+ (/)(1 + )
1/2
. (118)
The incident power per unit area is T = c[E
0
[
2
/8, so the fraction of the incident
power which enters the conductor, where it is dissipated as Joule heat, is
T =
T

T
= 4

(1 + )
1/4
cos
1 + 2
_
/cos (1 + )
1/4
+ (/)(1 + )
1/2
. (119)
This expression is much simplied in the limit of a good conductor where = /4,
cos = 1/

2, and >> 1. Then

T 4

1/4
(1/

2)

1/2
/
= 2

2
_

_

4
=
2
c
c

2
=
2
c
. (120)
For a good conductor such as Cu, 10
17
sec
1
and so a wave with frequency around
10
10
sec
1
will have 10
4
cm or 1 m. Also, the better the conductor, the smaller
the fraction of the incident power lost in the reection process. For the example just
given, T 10
4
, meaning that the wave can be reected some ten thousand times
before becoming strongly attenuated.
9 Superposition of Waves; Pulses and Packets
No wave is truly monochromatic, although some waves, such as those produced by
lasers, are exceedingly close to being so. Fortunately, in the case of linear media,
the equations of motion for electromagnetic waves are completely linear and so any
sum of harmonic solutions is also a solution. By making use of this superposition
principle we can construct quite general solutions by superposing solutions of the
kind we have already studied.
42

k
k
=
Figure 24: Any pulse in a linear media may be decomposed into a superposition
of plane waves.
This procedure amounts to making a Fourier transform of the pulse. For simplicity
we shall work in one spatial dimension which simply means that we will superpose
waves whose wave vectors are all in the same direction (the z-direction). For the
same reason, we shall also employ scalar waves; these could, for example, be the x
components of the electric elds of the waves. One such wave has the form e
i(kz(k)t)
where we shall not initially restrict (k) to any particular form. Given a set of such
waves, we can build a general solution of this kind (wave vector parallel to the z-axis)
by integrating over some distribution A(k) of them:
u(z, t) =
1

2
_

dk A(k)e
i(kz(k)t)
. (121)
At time t = 0, this function is simply
u(z, 0) =
1

2
_

dk A(k)e
ikz
(122)
and the inverse transform gives A in terms of the zero-time wave:
A(k) =
1

2
_

dz u(z, 0)e
ikz
. (123)
All of the standard rules of Fourier transforms are applicable to the functions A(k)
and u(z, 0). For example, if A(k) is a sharply peaked function with width k, then
the width of u(z, 0) must be of order 1/k or larger, and conversely. One may make
this statement more precise by dening
(z)
2
< z
2
> < z >
2
(k)
2
< k
2
> < k >
2
, (124)
43
where
< f(k) >
_

dk f(k)[A(k)[
2
_

dk [A(k)[
2
(125)
and
< f(z) >
_

dz f(z)[u(z, 0)[
2
_

dz [u(z, 0)[
2
. (126)
The relation between these widths which must be obeyed is
zk 1/2. (127)
Now, given a reasonable initial wave form u(z, 0)
11
with some z and a Fourier
transform A(k) with some k, the question we seek to answer is what will be the
nature of u(z, t)? The answer is simple in principle because all we have to do is
Fourier transform to nd A(k) and then do the integral specied by Eq. (121) to nd
u(z, t). One can always do these integrals numerically if all else fails. Here we shall
do some approximate calculations designed to demonstrate a few general points.
Suppose that we have found A(k) and that it is some peaked function centered at
k
0
with a width k. If (k) is reasonably well approximated by a truncated Taylors
series expansion for k within k of k
0
, then we may write
(k)
0
+
d
dk

k
0
(k k
0
)
0
+ v
g
(k k
0
) (128)
where

0
(k
0
) and v
g
= d/dk[
k
0
; (129)
v
g
is called the group velocity of the packet; notice that it can depend on the wave
number k
0
which characterizes the typical wave numbers in the wave. In this approx-
imation, one nds
u(z, t) =
1

2
_

dk A(k)e
ik(zvgt)
e
i
0
t
e
ivgk
0
t
= e
i(vgk
0

0
)t
u(z v
g
t, 0). (130)
11
Its time derivative u(z, t)/t|
t=0
must also be given to allow a unique solution of the initial
value problem; our discussion is therefore incomplete but can be corrected easily.
44
This result tells us that the wave packet retains its initial form and translates in space
at a speed v
g
. It does not spread (disperse) or distort in any way. In particular, the
energy carried by the wave will move with a speed v
g
.
The group velocity is evidently an important quantity. We may write it in terms
of the index of refraction by using the dening relation k = n()/c. Take the
derivative of this with respect to k:
1 =
_
n
c
+

c
dn
d
_
d
dk
(131)
or
v
g
=
c
n +
dn
d
. (132)
As an example consider the collisionless plasma relation n =
_
1
2
p
/
2
. One easily
nds that
v
g
= c
_
1
2
p
/
2
. (133)
For <
p
, the group velocity is imaginary which corresponds to a damped wave;
for >
p
, it is positive and increases from zero to c as increases.
Our calculations thus far have not resulted in any spreading or distortion of the
wave packet because we did not include higher-order terms in the relation (called a
dispersion relation) between and k. Lets treat a simple example in which A(k) is
a gaussian function of k k
0
,
A(k) =
_
A
0

_
e
(kk
0
)
2
/2
2
. (134)
Further, let (k) be approximated by
(k) =
0
+ v
g
(k k
0
) + (k k
0
)
2
. (135)
The corresponding u(z, t) is
u(z, t) =
1

2
_

dk
A
0

e
(kk
0
)
2
/2
2
e
ikzi[
0
+vg(kk
0
)+(kk
0
)
2
]t
45
=
A
0

2
e
i(k
0
z
0
t)
_

dk e
i(kk
0
)(zvgt)
e
(1/2
2
+it)(kk
0
)
2
=
A
0

1 + 2i
2
t
e
(zvgt)
2

2
/[2(1+2i
2
t)]
e
i(k
0
z
0
t)
. (136)
If = 0, this is a Gaussian-shaped packet which travels at speed v
g
with a constant
width equal to
1
. If ,= 0, it is still a Gaussian-shaped packet traveling at speed
v
g
; however, it does not have a constant width any longer. To make the development
of the width completely clear, consider [u(z, t)[
2
which more nearly represents the
energy density in the wave:
[u(z, t)[
2
=
A
2
0

1 + 4
2

4
t
2
e
(zvgt)
2

2
/(1+4
2

4
t
2
)
. (137)
The width of this traveling Gaussian is easily seen to be
w(t) =

1 + 4
2

4
t
2
/. (138)
At short times the width increases as the square of the time, while at long times it
becomes linear with t.
When the packet spreads, or disperses, in this fashion, to what extent does it make
sense to think about the wave as a localized object? One measure is the width of
the packet as compared with the distance it has moved. After a long time the width
is approximately 2t while the distance the packet has moved is v
g
t. The ratio of
these distances is 2/v
g
, so our condition for having a localized object is
2/v
g
<< 1. (139)
v t g
v t g
x x
2
vg
2
vg
<< 1
> 1

46
Figure 25: When is small, the wave is composed of few wavenumbers.
In addition, of course, the initial width of the packet must be small compared to v
g
t
which is always possible if one waits long enough. Our inequality clearly puts a limit
on the allowable size of , for a given , necessary to have a well-dened pulse. For
smaller , one can get away with larger , a simple consequence of the fact that small
means the width of the packet in k-space is small, leading to less dispersion.
9.1 A Pulse in the Ionosphere
Lets look also at the fate of a wave packet propagating in the ionosphere; we found in
an earlier section, treating the ionosphere as a collisionless plasma and with k parallel
to B
0
, that () = 1 +
2
p
/(
B
) for one particular polarization of the wave. If
is small enough compared to other frequencies, we may approximate in such a way
that n() =
p
/

B
, which gives rise to anomalous dispersion indeed. Dening

0

2
p
/
B
, one nds that the group velocity of a signal is v
g
= 2c
_
/
0
.
Let us see how a pulse with the same A(k) as in the previous example propagates.
We have
u(z, t) =
1

2
_

dk
A
0

e
(kk
0
)
2
/2
2
+ikzic
2
k
2
t/
0
=
1

2
_

dk
A
0

e
(kk
0
)
2
/2
2
+i(kk
0
)z+ik
0
zic
2
t(kk
0
)
2
/
0
i2c
2
k
0
t(kk
0
)/
0
ic
2
k
2
0
t/
0
=
A
0
1 + 2i
2
c
2
t/
0
)
1/2
e
i(k
0
zc
2
k
2
0
t/
0
)
e

(z2c
2
k
0
t/
0
)
2

2
2(1+2i
2
c
2
t/
0
)
(140)
This is a traveling, dispersing Gaussian. Its speed is the group velocity v
g
(k
0
). The
width of the Gaussian is
w(t) =
_
1 + 4
4
c
4
t
2
/
2
0
/ 2c
2
t/
0
(141)
at long times. The packet spreads at a rate given by v
w
= 2c
2
/
0
. The ratio of
this spreading rate to the group velocity is /k
0
and so we retain a well-dened pulse
provided the spread in wavenumber is small compared to the central wavenumber.
47
Pulses of this general type are generated in the ionosphere by thunderstorms.
They have a very broad range of frequencies ranging from very low ones up into at
least the AM radio range. The electromagnetic waves tend to be guided along lines
of the earths magnetic induction, and so, if for example the storm is in the southern
hemisphere, the waves travel north in the ionosphere along lines of B and then come
back to earth in the northern hemisphere.
Earth
B
Figure 26: Lightning in the southern hemisphere yields wistlers in the north.
By this time they are much dispersed, with the higher frequency components arriving
well before the lower frequency ones since v
g
= 2c
_
/
0
for <<
0
. Frequencies
in the audible range, 10
2
or 10
3
sec
1
take one or more seconds (a long time for
electromagnetic waves) to arrive. If one receives the signal and converts it directly
to an audio signal at the same frequency, it sounds like a whistle, starting at high
frequencies and continuing down to low ones over a time period of several seconds.
This characteristic feature has caused such waves to be known as whistlers.
10 Causality and the Dielectric Function
A linear dispersive medium is characterized by a dielectric function () having phys-
ical origins that we have just nished exploring. One consequence of having such a
relation between D(x, ) and E(x, ), that is,
D(x, ) = ()E(x, ), (142)
48
is that the relation between D(x, t) and E(x, t) is nonlocal in time. To see this we
have only to look at the Fourier transforms of D and E. One has
D(x, t) =
1

2
_

d D(x, )e
it
(143)
and its inverse
D(x, ) =
1

2
_

dt D(x, t)e
it
; (144)
similar relations hold for E(x, t) and E(x, ). Using the relation D(x, ) = ()E(x, ),
we have
D(x, t) =
1

2
_

d ()E(x, )e
it
. (145)
We can write E(x, ) here as a Fourier integral and so have
D(x, t) =
1
2
_

d ()e
it
_

dt

e
it

E(x, t

)
=
1
2
_

dt d [() 1 + 1]E(x, t

)e
i(tt

)
=
E(x, t) +
1
2
_

dt d [() 1]E(x, t

)e
i(tt

)
E(x, t) + 4P(x, t). (146)
The nal term, 4P(x, t), can be written in terms the Fourier transform
12
of ()1;
introduce the function
G(t)
1
2
_

d [() 1]e
it
. (147)
Then we have
D(x, t) = E(x, t) +
_

dt

G(t t

)E(x, t

) (148)
which may also be written as
D(x, t) = E(x, t) +
_

d G()E(x, t ). (149)
This equation makes it clear that when the medium has a frequency-dependent dielec-
tric function, as all materials do, then the electric displacement at time t depends on
12
Provided the order of integration can be reversed and the transform exists.
49
the electric eld not only at time t but also at times other than t. This is somewhat
disturbing because one can see that, depending on the character of G, we could get
a polarization P(x, t) that depends on values of E(x, t

) for t

> t, which means we

get an eect arising from a cause that occurs at a time later than the eect. This
behavior can be avoided if the function G() vanishes when < 0, and that is what
in fact happens.
Lets look at a simple example with
() = 1 +

2
p

2
0

2
i
. (150)
Then
G() =

2
p
2
_

d
e
i

2
0

2
i
(151)
This integral was made for contour integration techniques. The poles of the integrand
are in the lower half-plane in complex frequency space at

=
1
2
[
_
4
2
0

2
i]; (152)
without producing a contribution to the integral, we can close the contour in the
upper (lower) half-plane when is smaller (larger) than zero. Because there are poles
only in the lower half-plane, we can see immediately that G() will be zero for < 0.
That is pleasing since we dont want the displacement (that is, the polarization) to
respond at time t to the electric eld at times later than t.
>0 G( ) = 0
G( ) = 0
<0
Figure 27: Because there are poles only in the lower half-plane, we can see imme-
diately that G() will be zero for < 0.
50
Applying Cauchys theorem to the case of > 0, one nds that, for all ,
G() =
2
p
e
/2
sin(
0
)

0
() (153)
where (x) is the step function, equal to unity for x > 0 and to zero otherwise,
and
0
=
_

2
0

2
/4. The characteristic range in time of this function is
1
and
hence the nonlocal (in time) character of the response is not important for frequencies
smaller than about ; it becomes important for larger ones.
One may naturally wonder whether there should also be nonlocal character of the
response in space as well as in time. In fact there should and will be under some con-
ditions. If we look back at our derivation of the model dielectric function, we see that
the equation of motion of the particle was solved using E(0, t) instead of E(x, t); the
latter is of course the more correct choice. The dierence is not important so long as
the excursions of the charge from the point on which it is bound are much smaller than
the wavelength of the radiation, which is the case for any kind of wave with frequencies
up to those of soft X-rays. Hence the response can be expected to be local in space in
insulating materials. However, if an electron is free, it can move quite far during a cy-
cle of the eld and if it does so, the response will be nonlocal in space as well as time.

e
-
x
If x << , then G(x,t) ~ G(0,t)
Figure 28: G(, x) will not be x dependent if the excursions of the charge from the
point on which it is bound are much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation.
Returning to the question of causality, we have seen that the simple model di-
electric function produces a function G(t) which is zero for t < 0, as is necessary if
causality is to be preserved, by which we mean there is no response in advance of
the cause of that response. It is easy to see what are the features of the dielectric
51
function that give rise to the result G(t) = 0 for t < 0. One is that there are no
simple poles of the dielectric function in the upper half of the complex frequency
plane. Another is that the dielectric function goes to zero for large fast enough
that we can do the contour integral as we did it.
More generally, if one wants to have a function G(t) which is consistent with
the requirements of causality, this implies certain conditions on any (). Additional
conditions can be extracted from such simple things as the fact that G(t) must be real
so that D is real if E is. Without going into the details of the matter (see Jackson)
let us make some general statements. The reality of G requires that
() =

). (154)
That G is zero for negative times requires that () be analytic in the upper half
of the frequency plane. Assuming that G(t) 0 as t , one nds that () is
analytic on the real axis. This last statement is actually not true for conductors which
give a contribution to i/ so that there is a pole at the origin. Finally, from the
small-time behavior of G(t), one can infer that at large frequencies the real part of
() 1 varies as
2
while the imaginary part varies as
3
. This is accomplished
by repeatedly integrating by parts
() 1 =
_

0
dG()e
i

iG(0
+
)

(0
+
)

2
+
iG

(0
+
)

3
+ (155)
This series is convergent for large . The rst term vanishes if G() is continuous
accross = 0. Thus
'(() 1)
1

2
(() 1)
1

3
(156)
From inspection, one may see that the various dielectric functions we have contrived
satisfy these conditions.
Given that the dielectric function has the analyticity properties described above,
it turns out that by rather standard manipulations making use of Cauchys integral
52
theorem, one can write the imaginary part of () in terms of an integral of the real
part over real frequencies and conversely. That one can do so is important because it
means, for example, that if one succeeds in measuring just the real (imaginary) part,
the imaginary (real) part is then known. The downside of this apparent miracle is
that one has to know the real or imaginary part for all real frequencies in order to
obtain the other part.
To see how this works, notice that as a consequence of the analytic properties of
the dielectric function, it obeys the relation
(z) = 1 +
1
2i
_
C
d

) 1

z
(157)
where the contour does not enter the lower half-plane (where may have poles)
anywhere and where z is inside of the contour. Let C consist of the real axis and a
large semicircle which closes the path in the upper half-plane.
C
Figure 29: Contour C: () is analytic inside an on C..
Then, given that falls o fast enough, as described above, at large , the semicircular
part of the path does not contribute to the integral. Hence we nd that
(z) = 1 +
1
2i
_

) 1

z
. (158)
At this juncture, z can be any point in the upper half-plane. Lets use z = + i
and take the limit of 0, nding
( + i) = 1 +
1
2i
_

) 1

i
. (159)
The presence of the in the denominator means that at the integration point

= ,
we must be careful to keep the singularity inside of, or above, the contour. Here we
53
pick up 2i times the residue, and the residue is just () 1. This relation shows
identity but is not useful otherwise. However, one can also pull the following trick:
If we integrate right across the singularity, taking the principal part (denoted P) of
the integral plus an innitesmal semicircle right below the singularity that amounts
to taking i times the residue. Hence we can make the replacement
1

i
P
_
1

_
+ i(

) (160)
where P stands for the principal part; this substitution leads to
() = 1 +
1
i
P
_

) 1

(161)
Let us write separately the real and imaginary parts of this expression:
'[()] = 1 +
1

P
_

[(

)]

[()] =
1

P
_

'[(

) 1]

(162)
These equations are known as the Kramers-Kronig relations for the dielectric function.
They may be written as integrals over only positive frequencies because of the fact
that the real part of () is an even function of while the imaginary part is odd.
It should also be pointed out that we have assumed there is no pole in () at
= 0; if there is one (conductors have dielectric functions with this property) some
modication of these expressions will be necessary.
11 Arrival of a Signal in a Dispersive Medium
Most of the wave trains one receives, such as radio signals, messages from within or
without the galaxy (sent by stars, pulsars, neutron stars, etc), and so on, have to
traverse dispersive media to get wherever they go. Consequently it is of consider-
able importance to know how the signals are distorted by the intervening material.
The basic idea is this: we have seen how a pulse centered at some particular wave
54
number or frequency tends to travel with the group velocity of the central frequency
and also spreads some as a consequence of the frequency-dependence of the index
of refraction or dielectric function. If the dispersion is very large, as in regions of
anomalous dispersion, the pulse will not simply spread some but will be distorted
beyond recognition. In addition, frequency components in this region will be strongly
attenuated and so will disappear from the wave train after awhile. If a signal is ini-
tially very broad in frequency, having components ranging from very low ones, where
the group velocity is roughly constant and equal to c/
_
(0), to very high ones where
() 1 and the group velocity is about c, then the signal that arrives after traveling
through a signicant length of medium will be very dierent indeed from the initial
one. All of the frequency components around the regions of anomalous dispersion
will be gone. There will be some high-frequency component which travels at a speed
around c and so arrives rst; it is generally called the rst precursor. Then after
awhile the remainder of the signal will arrive. The leading edge of this part is called
the second precursor and it consists of those lower frequency components which
have the largest group velocity and which are not appreciably attenuated. These are
usually
13
the very low frequency components.
It is a straightforward matter to determine what the signal will be, using the
superposition principle. Consider a pulse in one dimension with an amplitude u(z, t).
Given that one knows the form of this pulse and its rst space derivatives as functions
of time at some initial position in space
14
, called z
0
, then one may determine by
Fourier analysis the amplitude A() of the various frequency components in it. Since
a frequency component propagates according to exp[i(n()z/c t)], it is then
easy in principle to nd u(z, t):
u(z, t) =
1

2
_

d A()e
i(n()z/ct)
. (163)
13
But not always; the whistler provides a a counter example.
14
Notice that instead of solving an initial value problem in time, we here rephrase it as an initial
value problem in space.
55
If we can do this integral for the index of refraction of our choice, we can nd the
form of the wave train at all space points at any later time. Among other things, one
can show by making use of the analyticity properties of the dielectric function that
it is impossible for an electromagnetic signal to travel faster than the speed of light.
See Jackson.
As a very simple example, consider a single-resonance dielectric function with no
absorption,
() = 1 +

2
p

2
0

2
= n
2
() (164)
or
n() =
_

2
0

2
+
2
p

2
0

2
_
1/2
. (165)
Then
2n
dn
d
= 2

2
p
(
2
0

2
)
2
(166)
so
n
dn
d
+ n
2
=

2
p
(
2
0

2
)
2
+ 1 +

2
p

2
0

2
=

4
0
2
2
0

2
+
4
+
2
p

2
0
(
2
o

2
)
2
. (167)
Hence
v
g
=
c

dn
d
+ n
= c
_

2
0

2
+
2
p

2
0

2
_
1/2
(
2
0

2
)
2
(
2
0
2
2
0

2
+
4
+
2
p

2
0
)
(168)
The rst plot shows the character of v
g
and of n(). The group velocity is largest
for the largest frequencies; these will combine to provide the rst precursor which
56
may well be weak to the extent that the initial pulse does not contain many high-
frequency components. The rst precursor continues as lower frequency components
(but still larger than
_

2
0
+
2
p
) come through. While this is going on, all of the
very low frequency components arrive. This is the second precursor. Finally, if the
pulse is actually a long wave train which has one predominant frequency in it, then
after some time the received pulse settles down to something more or less harmonic,
showing just this frequency.
57
A Waves in a Conductor
When we discussed the propagation of waves in an ideal dielectric, we showed that
the elds were transverse to the direction of propagation. This corresponds to an
isulating material, with a vanishing electrical conductivity. When we extend our
discussion to include media of nite conductivity , there is no a priori reason that
the elds will still be transverse to the direction of propagation.
Lets show that we need not worry about any longitudinal elds. Suppose that
once again we have some linear medium with D = E, B = H, and J = E; , ,
and are taken as real. Then the Maxwell equations become
B = 0, E = 0, E =
1
c
B
t
, (169)
and
B =
4
c
E +

c
E
t
. (170)
Lets look for solutions to Maxwells equations in the form of logitudinial waves,
E = zE(z, t) ; B = zB(z, t) (171)
Since B = E = 0, E and B can be functions of time only. Thus E =
B = 0, and the other two Maxwells equations become
B
t
= 0 ;
4
c
E +

c
E
t
= 0 (172)
The rst says that B must be constant. The second says that E while uniform in
space has a time dependence
E(t) = E(0)e
4t/
(173)
In a conductor, 10
16
sec
1
. Thus E(t) falls o very rapidly and may be neglected.
Thus as worst there is a constant logitudinal B-eld as part of our wave in a conduc-
tor. Since Maxwells equations are linear, we may drop this trivial solution and just
consider the transverse elds.
58